It is common practice to perform complex welding operations in the field instead of in a factory; therefore, a large segment of the electric arc welding business has been directed to freestanding, movable welders. In practice, such welders are commonly a power source having a rectified input driven by an AC signal from an alternator rotated by an internal combustion engine. Thus, the internal combustion engine provides the electrical power for the welder, so the welder can be moved to remote locations in the field without concern for the existence of commercial line voltage. With the popularity of an engine driven welder, substantial development activity has been directed to improving the unit so it is easily operated and customer friendly. This objective is reached by facilitating minor maintenance and allowing placement or repair of defective components. The rectifier, engine and alternator unit, power source and various components of the portable arc welder are contained in a surrounding housing where the front panel of the housing includes gages, input devices, such as switches, and output devices, such as display units for amperes and voltage. However, when the engine welder requires maintenance, it must be returned to the home facility so the cabinet can be removed to gain access to the various components. To repair the engine welder, the cabinet panels must be removable or disassembled. Components requiring the most frequent attention are not easily accessible even with the cover panel removed. One slight improvement in the cabinet structure of an engine welder has been to provide a pivoted door on the front panels. The various gages and input devices are mounted onto this pivoted door. The maintenance of the door mounted components or devices can be done by pivoting the door. This allows access from either the back side or the front side. Thus, door mounted components are easily repaired by opening the door. This is an advantage of units sold by The Lincoln Electric Company of Cleveland, Ohio; however, this pivoted front panel door does not address the real problem of accessibility for the many operating components of the engine welder.